Embodiments of the present invention relate to a system on a chip (SoC) having a dynamic rising brown-out threshold voltage to provide power up control and to support energy harvesting.
Power consumption of electronic devices has become an increasingly important design consideration. This is especially important with the proliferation of portable electronic devices using battery power as well as alternative energy sources. Utilizing these alternative energy sources is often referred to as energy harvesting. These alternative energy sources are typically characterized by low output voltage and high source impedance. They include amorphous solar cells, thermoelectric transducers, radio frequency receivers, and other available sources. Due to the relatively low output voltage of these sources, they are often combined with a charge pump to provide a usable output voltage level. The charge pump, however, has a very high source impedance with very low steady state output current capacity. This low steady state output current capacity complicates both power up and normal device operation. Embodiments of the present invention are directed to improving problems associated with power up operation of electronic devices as will be described in detail.